In March 2023, following an open call, LibrarIN launched a Stakeholder Panel. As the project seeks to bring innovation in the context of libraries, who else than librarians to effect such changes? Their diverse expertise is expected to feed the LibrarIN project: from this collaboration will emerge new insights to redefine libraries.
A Diverse Group
Gathering the panel was a thoughtful and balanced process. The LibrarIN Stakeholder Panel brings together passionate individuals about innovation in libraries. One of the most important criteria, besides the expertise in digital transformation, social entrepreneurship, and innovation networks, was the Panel’s diversity, especially the representation of municipal libraries. The Stakeholder Panel comprises 29 dynamic members, from all over Europe, representing national, academic, municipal, and community libraries alongside policymakers, international library organizations, academia, and civil society.
First In-Person Meeting at Amsterdam
The recent meeting in Amsterdam, the first of its kind, set the tone for the future exchanges between the panelists and the project members. Both groups converged to discuss, brainstorm, and exchange insights. And there were a lot of ideas! Conversations spanned around the topics of digital transformation, social entrepreneurship, public-private networks, social innovation, and living labs for co-creation and co-innovation.
Overall, the session encouraged active engagement and discussion between researchers and stakeholders, with both groups offering valuable insights and suggestions for collaboration. It allowed project members and researchers to gather a first round of feedback on their preliminary work and to better understand the different local contexts where library innovations are happening, together with identifying key challenges and obstacles. The meeting concluded with a strong sense of commitment to working together to advance the project’s goals and support libraries in their efforts to meet the challenges and needs of the future.
How Will the Panel Contribute to LibrarIN?
The collaboration will continue via online and in-person panel meetings on the work areas that emerged from the in-person meeting in Amsterdam, and will include participation in the planned co-creation sessions. Under the guidance of the Lisbon Council, AIT, and LIBER Europe, the future sessions will aim to translate the exchanges started in Amsterdam into tangible library innovations. Thanks to participatory methods, the panelists will validate library terminologies, work together with the project partners in co-creation sessions, and provide feedback about the project’s research findings.